“This is a tool that we think should be community led and community owned,” Fisher adds. “We have the skillsets to make it happen and so we are, structuring it in a way that it will be free for the business owner/entrepreneur to use.”

MNstarter is currently organized as an LLC and intends to convert to either a nonprofit or public benefit corporation before launch. Sustainability revenues are expected in the form of advertising and donation; it’s unclear exactly when MNstarter will be available for practical application as the State of Minneota needs to approve their pending application.

Of course, issuing companies can also be a direct issuer — there is no requirement to use a 3rd party portal; we’ll see how the market sorts out, if other portals come out of the woodwork if entrepreneurs end up doing it on their own terms.

An even bigger question for MNstarter and others considering the portal path: will there be sufficient demand?

Fisher says that they’ve counted 25 states in the US that have implemented their own localized crowdfunding exemptions and 110 successful offerings to date nationwide. Their group is targeting 4-6 in its first year.